


Dragons & Their Bonded

by Bellinda



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, superpower au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 8,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26460859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bellinda/pseuds/Bellinda
Summary: The dragon riders' bonds with their dragons allow them control of some interesting powers. These are given to them gradually, as their bonds grow stronger, but who will have what power?
Relationships: Dragon Riders - Relationship, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

When Hiccup first bonded with Toothless, he had no idea of what would happen. Had he known, he would’ve done it anyway, as well as everything else.

* * *

  
**After the Red Death’s…death**

While walking around the village after he woke up from his coma, Hiccup noticed that many people had dragons, but none—except for the other riders—had a bond with them. He suddenly felt like he should keep it a secret, although he had no clue where that instinct came from.   
  
  


* * *

  
**After Defenders Of Berk**

Meeting with the gang at the training area, Hiccup started feeling odd, like there was another presence in his mind. He dismissed the feeling as silly, knowing it couldn’t be true.

”Okay, gang! Today, we’ll be working on communication, with our dragons and each other. For this exercise, we will be in threes. I’ve decided that Astrid, Fishlegs and Snotlout will be one group, and I will go with the twins. Any questions?” Hiccup asked.

”Just one.”

”Yes, Astrid?”

”Why did I get put with Snotlout?”

”Well, you could go with the twins if—“

”No, I’m good.”

”Okay then, anyone else?”

”Oh, oh, pick me!”

”Yes, Tuffnut?” Hiccup’s current train of thought was along the lines of ‘the things I do so this village doesn’t burn down’.

”Are we going to start yet, or just stand around here talking all day?”

”That was actually a good question. On that note, let’s begin!”

Team A.F.S headed to the North side of the island to practice, while team H.R.T went South. Hiccup was still aware of that second presence, and so he tried to contact it in his mind.

_”Hello? Anyone there? Or am I imagining things?”_

_  
“Hiccup? Can you hear me?”_

_  
“What in the world?…Toothless?”_

He fainted from the shock. Luckily, the twins caught them and put them on a nearby sea stack. Ruffnut tried to wake Hiccup up gently, but it didn’t work. So Tuffnut yelled: “WAKE UP, HICCUP!” in his ear.

”Guys, what happened?”

”You passed out mid-flight on Toothless, is something wrong?” Ruffnut inquired.

”I had some sort of day dream about Toothless talking to me in my head…” Hiccup seemed dazed and confused, definitely not flight-worthy.

“Well, why don’t we wait here until you recover enough to fly and—“

” _Hello? Anyone listening? I can answer any questions you have about mental talking. I am currently doing it, after all.”_

”WHAT!?”

  
“We all heard that, right?” Tuff asked, seeming to be quite shaken up by recent happenings.

”Yeah.” “Am I going as crazy as you two?” were the only answers he received.

_”Tuff, Ruff? Testing one, two. Can you hear us?”_   
  


“Barf-and-Belch!”

”You guys can talk too?”

_”Of course we can! Did you think that only Night Furies could? All dragons can, even Terrible Terrors.”_

”How is it possible for us to hear you?” Hiccup had collected his thoughts, and asked the question on the three humans’ lips.

_”You know when you did ‘the hand thing’? Well that simple act created a bond between you and me that allows you certain…things. You are among the first humans to bond with dragons in this manner, we have only ever heard legends about this. We don’t fully know what will happen next, but it will affect all the Riders.”_ Toothless said.

_”Since the others have not yet made a deep enough bond to hear us, can you keep all and any discussions with us a secret?”_ Barf-and-Belch pleaded.

”Sure, just don’t contact us while we’re around other humans, or we may act in some funny ways.” Tuff said.

”One more thing, will we be able to understand all dragons?”

_”Ooh, Hiccup coming in for the big win! No, you can only understand bonded dragons right now, but, in the future, who can tell?”_

“So it’s a work-it-out-yourself process?”

_”Something like that.”_

”Got it.”   
  


_“Anything else?”_

”Does ‘any other bonded dragon‘ include Meatlug, Hookfang and Stormfly? Because, if so, we’re gonna have to learn a way to block your voices out temporarily every now-and-then.”

_  
“Yes, Meatlug, Hookfang and Stormfly are included, and simply not thinking about us can block us out, but we can still reach you in an emergency through the link to our humans’ mind.”_

”Good to know. Now, we should practice hand signals while there is some time left, or the others will suspect something.”

And so they taught each other about communication, which was so much easier with the mental connection, before heading home.

** Author's Note: Just so we’re clear:**

“normal talking”

_mind speech_

**time skip**

** author's note**

** And, for anyone who is wondering, the dragon riders will learn to mentally talk. **


	2. Chapter 2

When they made it back to the others, they had a few things figured out as far as hand signals went, so they didn’t suspect a thing.

Then, Hiccup felt something again. It was similar to when he was able to talk to Toothless, but it felt more…intense than a pin-prick. It felt like a previously unused part of his brain was getting activated and set up for use. He shrugged it off as one of the ‘things’ that Toothless mentioned.   
  


* * *

**The Next Day**

Hiccup and Toothless went on a flight with Ruff, Tuff and Barf-and-Belch to “continue their lessons on communication“.

“Hey H, there’s a Monstrous Nightmare over there caught in one of the old dragon traps.” Tuffnut remarked.

”Let’s go get it out then.” Hiccup sighed, privately asking himself why Tuff would point it out so causally when the dragon was obviously in pain.

As they were walking up to it, the Nightmare thought that they had come to end him, so it shot flames at the person at the front. The person at the front just happened to be Hiccup, and his adrenaline made him do something he’d never done before.

  
He jumped up, only he didn’t jump, he flew. Hiccup could feel that the part of his brain that had started working earlier had something to do with this.

  
Hovering over the injured dragon, Hiccup yelped when he realized that he flew. In the air. By himself.

  
He promptly fainted, and the twins caught him, again. They used the exact same method from the day before to wake him up.   
  


The first thing Hiccup did when he woke up was to turn to Toothless and yell “How in the world did that happen?!”   
  


“ _I am afraid I don’t know, but I have a strong suspicion that our bond helped you do it.”_ His best bud replied slowly, as if the shock was just wearing off.

  
“Wow, could we get powers too?”

” _It’s a possibility that we have to consider. Remember, we don’t have all the answers as this is new to us too.”_

Suddenly there was an explosion where the twins had been standing.

_“Ruff! Tuff!”_ The zippleback mind-screeched

_“_ Guys, are you okay?” Hiccup asked worriedly.

_“Well, this is rather unexpected.”_ Toothless commented, “ _Then again, we’re talking about the twins here, they’ll be alright.”_

”Wow. That was awesome.”

”Our biggest explosion yet.”

”You’re alive!” Hiccup said in relief. “Okay now, what happened?” he used the tone a parent uses when they know about something you’ve done and are trying to get you to admit it.  
  


“So, we were trying to see if we had powers…” Ruffnut started.

”…When gas started flowing out of Ruffnut’s hand…” 

“…And sparks came out of Tuffnut’s hand…”

”…And we may have accidentally caused a massive explosion…”

”…That destroyed all the grass for a 20-meter-radius.” Ruffnut finished.

”I could see that last part for myself,” Hiccup said, eyeing the dead grass, “and you appear to have the powers of a zippleback. Congratulations.”

”That’s a mixture between cool and terrifying.” Ruff stated.

”Let me try something.” Hiccup had felt the twins powers a second before the shockwave hit, and he wondered if there was a way to block them off.   
  


Sure enough, after a bit of work, he could feel the twins’ power in his hands instead of theirs.

”Try to gas-‘n’-spark now.”

”Hey, it doesn’t work anymore.”

”Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.” Tuffnut sighed dramatically.

”Guys, I think I can control your powers.”  
  


“ _Thank goodness!_ ” Barf-and-Belch exclaimed, “ _even we were worried about the possibilities if the twins’ powers could not be controlled.”_

_  
“I’m with you there,_ ” Toothless shuddered, “ _what would we do with an out-of-control set of twins? Lock them up?”_

”No, they’d use their powers to escape!” Hiccup chuckled.

Pretty soon, everybody was rolling around on the ground laughing about what-if scenarios with out-of-control twins. It made for an interesting afternoon activity, but it was fun for all involved.

” _Oh oh, I got one. What if, the twins blew up Haddock Hall and Stoic’s beard caught on fire?_ ” Toothless tried so hard to keep a straight face at Barf-and-Belch’s joke, but he absolutely lost it.

”…Can’t…breathe…help…Toothless…” Hiccup wheezed, still laughing. Then he looked at the sky. 

“Oh no. Guys, we skipped lunch and it’s nearly dinner. We better start back right now, or wait until breakfast tomorrow.”

And on that serious note, they flew back and made it just in time for dinner.

”Hey, what were you three doing all day?” Snoutlout demanded, with an undertone of hurt that he would never admit.

”Oh, this and that.” Hiccup replied.

”Of course,” Astrid said in a voice that indicated she didn’t believe him at all and would corner one or all of them later.  
  


* * *

  
Astrid did manage to corner the twins, but Hiccup rescued them by coming around the corner and asking what was happening. That stopped Astrid in her tracks because she disliked anyone being present during her interrogations.


	3. Chapter 3

During the next week, Hiccup, the twins and their dragons would go off and experiment with their new-found powers. Fishlegs, Snotlout and, most of all, Astrid found this behaviour very suspicious, but couldn’t do a thing about it.

”Whew, I think we lost them for sure this time, right bud?”

_”Well, mere human, I do believe we did. Since you made that deal with Stormfly about not giving us away, it is impossible for them to find us. You know, because of their lousy human eyesight.”_

_”I agree there, bud. Since we bonded, all my senses have been on even higher alert than usual, do you think they feel the same?”_

_”I know they do, but your powers are blocking it, remember?”_

_”Yeah, I know. Just worried that the twins will do something to render me unconscious so I can’t focus on blocking them.”_

After a practice gone wrong, the twins had accidentally knocked Hiccup out and discovered that their powers worked with Hiccup unable to focus. He could control them in his sleep, but not in his unconscious state. It was strange, but it sort of worked.

Hiccup could feel another power coming to life in him, and had told the twins about it. They were awed at the possibility, and proceeded to boast about the second powers that they didn’t know anything about. Hiccup could feel their second powers growing, but wasn’t going to tell them about it. Yet.

“Okay, gang! Today, we will be testing how far our mental connections can reach. Me and Tooth will go over to the South of Berk, while you four go to the North of Berk and we will test from there.”

”Question?”

”Yeah, Tuff?”

”What happens if we can’t reach you guys?”

”Then you come closer and we measure the distance.”

”Got it.”

They flew off. After a half hour of flying, everyone was in the correct place, so the mental connection was tried.

_”Hello? Can you hear me, Hiccy?”_

_”Don’t call me Hiccy. Yes, I can hear you.”_

_  
“Good, for a second I though that I was hearing things.”_ Ruffnut sighed in relief.

_”Or would the correct term be thinking things? You know? ‘Cause it’s in your brain?”_ The other two did the mental equivalent of an ’are you serious’ look, which was basically just silence.

_”We know, Tuff,”_ Hiccup said at last, _“it was just a…surprise for us to think of things from that angle._ ”

_”I-I…did something…u-unique?”_

_”…Yes?”_

_”T-that almost never happens…”_ He broke down in sobs.

Hiccup and Toothless flew from the South side of Berk to the North in less than ten minutes. They were concerned for their friend. And so the lesson that day ended in encouragement and tears from every Viking and dragon present, though they would always deny it later.   
  
  


Apparently, Tuffnut was used to put-downs about his habits of pranking, enjoying pain, and his inability to do anything that didn’t mimic his sister.

Jeers at Ruffnut about her hair, craziness and weird humour were considered normal to the girl.

And Hiccup, where do we start? He was constantly bullied, mainly by Snotlout, about his size, strength, brains, inventions, the fact that he would lead the tribe one day…The list goes on and on.  
  


Toothless was made fun of for being the last Night Fury. Everyone at the nest joked that they were too dumb to stay alive. Really, the only reason one man had hunted them to the verge of extinction was because he used a different method each time.

Barf-and-Belch **(I consider them to be a dragon with one mind but two mental voices) **was teased for his lack of knowledge, even with strong survival instincts from birth (what else do you call escaping Mother’s wrath after a prank?).

They all needed this comfort session, even if they didn’t realise it.   
  


* * *

  
**One Week Later**

Hiccup decided it was time to tell the twins about their new power. This would play out interestingly…  
  


** Author’s Note: Sorry for making everyone OOC (our of character), but my story needed some emotion in it. **


	4. Chapter 4

Hiccup and Toothless took the twins to Dragon Island, in hopes that they could contain everything in that area. Although, that was only an option because it was risky with their new powers to be in the middle of the ocean.

”So…anyone mind telling me why we landed on Dragon Island instead of Berk?” Tuffnut questioned.

”Well, you know how I feel a second ability activating in me?” they nodded, “Well, when I was limiting your powers, I felt the same thing happening to you. I thought that Dragon Island would be a good place to test these, we don’t want a repeat of your first power usage, now do we?”  
  


Tuffnut agreed, but Ruffnut seemed occupied with something. “Hey Hiccup,” she said, in the most serious tone Hiccup had ever heard her use.

  
“Yeah, Ruff?”  
  


“Do we have separate powers?”

”As far as I can tell, your second abilities are shared due to both being twins and sharing a dragon.”

”Okay, let’s do this!”

They all tried to connect with their new brain area for their power, with astonishing results. Hiccup disappeared, Ruffnut was suddenly on her dragon head, and Tuffnut was hanging upside down in a tree.

”What happened?” Tuffnut asked dizzily after falling from the tree branch he had been on.

”I don’t know,” Hiccup started, “but my skin seems to have faded a bit.”

”Hiccy, we can’t see you at all.” Ruffnut said in confusion.

_”I have to agree with Ruff. You appear to have invisibility as your second power.”_ Toothless agreed.

  
“So, any ideas on becoming visible again, or do I have to explain this to Dad when I get home?”

“ _That would be awkward!_ ” Barf-and-Belch laughed.

_“Since connecting with that part of your brain turned you invisible, maybe disconnecting with it will allow us to see you.”_

“Good idea, Bud.”

And Hiccup ‘returned’ to them, right in front of Barf-and-Belch, who shied away from him in surprise.

” _I could smell that you were close, but not that close!”_

_”I think his scent fades when he is not visible,” Toothless remarked, “otherwise dragons could just smell him out and it would be useless._ ”

”Anyways, what about the twins?”

”It was weird…” Tuffnut started. 

”…we were over there one second…”

”…and in different places the next…”

”…so we don’t know what powers we have.” they finished in unison.

“Toothless?”

” _I think they can teleport, and it is definitely a shared thing,”_

”Woah…” 

“Tuff, nothing is keeping your jaw from closing.” Ruffnut teased, before the information sank in.

”Wait, we can teleport?! This would be a major help in our pranks if we were allowed to use it.”

”Guess what? I’m only going to let you use that in our lessons because of the destructive possibilities.”

”Killjoy.”

”Awww…you spoiled the moment.”   
  
  


“No, you should say he ruined the moment…”

The twins went on one of their ‘let’s make a new word for this experience’ journeys. Leaving the others to a detailed discussion about their abilities that the twins would eventually join.

”Hey, guys. What are we talking about?” Just like that.

” _We were discussing how we could use our abilities without anyone noticing us. Spending time together every day kind of gives it away.”_

”I have an idea,” Hiccup said, “we could sneak out every second night to Dragon Island. It’s a 30-minute flight, I know, but it is a secluded location. If we only sneak out every second night—and don’t stray too long—we won’t lose too much sleep.”  
  


They all agreed to enact Hiccup’s plan over the following however-long amount of time.   
  


* * *

Returning home that day, it had been decided to sneak out the next night to avoid suspicion. Unfortunately, someone stopped them from leaving that night because they had an important thing to ask them…and it couldn’t wait.


	5. Chapter 5

The four/five of them met at the training arena and prepared to leave, but a voice was heard from Stormfly’s stall.

_“Hello, are Hiccup and the twins with you two?”_

_“Stormfly, we were just starting to go.”_ Barf-and-Belch said in exasperation.

_“I know you are all busy, but there is an overdue conversation to be held.”_

“What’s this about?” Hiccup was intrigued.

  
_“Let us out first,”_ Hookfang demanded, _“and we’ll talk.”_  
  


“You won’t run away?” Hiccup thought that Hookfang wasn’t completely loyal to his rider.

_“What gave you that idea?”_ Hookfang was honestly clueless about Hiccup’s question. Monstrous Nightmares show friendship or love through aggression, as strange as that is. **(This part is my thoughts on Snotfang’s relationship.)**

Toothless quietly explained this to Hiccup, who quickly said to ignore his last sentence.  
  


The humans let out all the dragons and questioned this meeting.

“What are we discussing here?”  
  


_“Well Ruff, you know your recently discovered powers?”_ There were several nods in response Stormfly. 

_  
“Good. Well, this is a legend come to life, and we do not want to do the wrong thing. Do not take offense, but we believe that the other humans are not ready to use their powers yet.”_

“I think I understand.” Tuffnut said.

”Yeah, it’s simple.” Ruffnut agreed.

”I think I’ve got the reasons why. Astrid is too instinct-based, Fishlegs cracks under pressure, and Snotlout would show off. Do you have any suggestions on what to do?” Hiccup questioned.

_“I may have an idea,”_ Meatlug had been silent before, but she spoke quietly now “ _you can use your status to block powers, correct?”_

”My status?”

” _Since Toothless defeated the Red Death, he took over her throne. He is equivalent to royalty, but prefers to act like a normal dragon and let the others go free.”_

”Well that explains a few things, and yes, I can block the twins powers, but I am not allowed to be knocked out, or my reigns slip.”

_”We’ll protect you to the best of our abilities, and not just because of status.”_ Hookfang promised _“I owe you a life debt, though it has been paid. Meatlug, Stormfly, and Barf-and-Belch would be mistreated and eventually killed for sport. And Toothless…”  
  
_

_“I owe you a flight debt,”_ Toothless continued, “ _for repairing my tail fin, and a life debt for setting me free when you could have killed me.”_  
  


“But…you guys don’t owe me anything, you have already paid your debts for helping us kill the Red Death and changing the minds of an island full of Vikings. Isn’t that enough?” Hiccup was distressed, he wanted to be a friend—not master—to the dragons.

” _The reasons mentioned are not the only ones. You are not all our bonded, but we still know that you were the first bonded, though our riders are special are closer to our hearts.”_

_  
_Meatlug was 19, older than the other dragons, and Gronckles were known for their wisdom. So it was no surprise that her kind words calmed everyone down, she couldn’t stand fighting.  
  


”What was I do to again? Just double-checking.” The conversation had distracted Hiccup from his previously-assigned task.

”Block the powers of the other three dragon riders, right O Stormy One?”

” _Yes, but don’t call me ‘Stormy One‘, my name is Stormfly.”_ She was annoyed at Tuff, but trying not to show it.

”I got it figured out now, thanks for telling me everything.”

” _There is one thing we did not say,”_ Stormfly briefly looked at the humans before going on. “ _You have different names in the dragon world, we should tell you them for future reference_.”

  
”Okay, and these are…?”

” _Hiccup is called ‘Dragon-Heart’, the twins are ‘Split-Zippleback Male’ and ‘Female’ respectively, Fishlegs is ‘Book-Reader’, Snotlout is ‘Defiant-One’, Astrid is ‘Fierce-Girl’, and Stoic is ‘Viking-Alpha.”_ Stormfly said. 

“Anything else?”

” _You also have names that describe your dragon relationships, like ‘Night-Fury-Brother’, ‘Zippleback-Buddies‘, ‘Gronckle-Nephew’, ‘Nightmare-Friend‘, ‘Nadder-Friend’ and ‘Smelly-Old-Man-Who-Hates-Dragons’.”_ Hookfang butted in.

”I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that last one was Mildew.” Ruffnut remarked in amusement.  
  


“How did you guess, sister mine?” Tuffnutt inquired.

”Guys, our time’s up!” Hiccup alerted them.

” _Everyone get to your stall or bed. We will see you tomorrow.”_ Toothless whispered.

And the conversation ended for that night, but ended up playing out over many nights.


	6. Chapter 6

**A Month After The Discovery**

The twins had mastered their gas-‘n’-spark routine, but had yet to fully control their teleportation abilities. Hiccup had figured out how his powers worked, the way to block them, and how to manage his flight.

  
The three didn’t meet in the daytime. But at night, they could be friends instead of acting like idiots and a leader. Likewise, the dragons could talk freely without worrying about inciting a reaction from their humans. 

Things were looking up. The other three riders had not seemed suspicious since their day-long outings had stopped, and the dragons trusted the trio not to give away what sped up the bonding process.

One day, Hiccup did his nightly scouting for the other riders’ powers and felt something from Astrid and Fishlegs. A new part of their brains was being activated, and he had to figure out a way to stop them feeling it. After a bit of searching, it came to light that this was the area allowing their mental conversations to happen.   
  


Hiccup, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were way ahead of their training-mates **(instead of class-mates)** in the bonding process. They were so far ahead, in fact, that the three of them could hold mental conversations with each other from half-way across the Archipelago. This came in handy when deciding where to meet for the next night lesson, but it distracted each other in training.

Back to reality, Hiccup rushed over to the arena where he would meet ‘the bonded partners’, as the dragons, twins and Haddock called themselves jokingly.   
  


“Guys, GUYS!”

”Shhhh, Hiccup. You’re going to wake up the whole village.” Tuffnut warned.

”Well I’m sorry, but if you knew what I did, you would yell too.”

”Let’s go to Dragon Island.” Ruffnut wisely suggested, so Hiccup could blow up on somewhere that isn’t Berk.

”Good idea, sister nut.”

The four/five beings arrived at the island, and everyone pestered Hiccup on his important observation. If, by everyone, you meant the twins.

”Gonna tell us any time soon, H?”

”What about you, T? D’ya know?”

” _Nope, our friend here has not yet told me.”_ Toothless said, although he could’ve just searched Hiccup’s mind for answers. No one liked getting questioned by the twins, not even our young Haddock friend.

”Okay you two, will you please be quiet?” He asked, slightly annoyed with them. Hiccup took a calming breath before educating them on the update in their situation.

”You know Astrid and Fishlegs?”

”Well, of course…”

”We grew up with them, after all…”

”Anyway, their brains are both adapting to understand mental talking.” There was a pause. “What should we do?”

” _You know how it is possible for you direct the twins’ powers? Maybe you can do a similar thing, but to thought speech._ ” Toothless shared his thoughts on the matter.   
  


“I can try, but I’d need a participant to practice on…”

”I’ll do it,” Tuffnut offered, “it sounds dangerous and fun, my favourite combination.”   
  


“Are you sure, Tuff? A lot of things could go wrong.”

”Oh well, the worst that could happen is getting a free, one-way ticket to Valhalla, which is pretty cool, really.”

Rolling his eyes at Tuffnut’s “logic”, Hiccup reached out with his mind and played with that area of Tuffnut. It was surprisingly complex, but he attempted to stop the mental connection they all had without exploration.   
  


“ _Did it work?”_ Barf-and-Belch asked.

”I can’t hear the dragons, this is freaky!” Tuffnut shivered.   
  


In the few weeks their brains had gone from never hearing their dragons to being reliant on mental talking. It was an interesting fact to add to the collection. Hiccup quickly repaired the connection, and the male twin leapt up to hug his dragon and sister.

”Thank Thor that’s over! It was scary not being able to hear the dragons at all, please don’t do that to me regularly.”

”I wasn’t planning to,” he stated, “but the information was needed to close off that area of Astrid and Fishlegs’ minds to keep our special bonds a secret.”

”Good.” Tuffnut sighed in relief.

The minute the four/five of them got home, Hiccup used his new trick on the two whose mind links were beginning to form.

Prior to this, Hiccup had found out his status allowed him to wield the twins’ abilities by himself, but there was a cost. If Hiccup used their powers, they could not, leaving them completely defenceless. Ruff and Tuff didn’t appear to mind, as long as they had a turn.

* * *

**A week later**

Snotlout’s brain had activated itself, Astrid and Fishlegs were getting their first powers, and Hiccup had a headache.

Controlling thoughts was a lot harder than powers, because of the difference in complexity. It took the whole week to work past the constant headache, but it soon became normal enough that he didn’t feel it.

As far as Hiccup could tell, Astrid would be able to walk through walls, and Fishlegs may be able to communicate with any animal using their language.

‘The bonded partners’ plus the other dragons had also received the latest update power-wise.

Hookfang was over the moon that Snotlout could soon understand him; there would be no repeats of the Fireworm Queen incident.

  
Stormfly was waiting for Astrid’s first time using her powers, though it shouldn’t be for some time yet.

Meatlug felt so proud of Fishlegs, she really was just like a doting aunt to the boy.  
  


Barf-and-Belch was intrigued by the new information, as was Toothless, but for different reasons.

Double-B wanted to test the limitations, while Toothless privately felt deep concern over his rider’s headaches. Unfortunately, this idea was not mutual **(identical feelings towards each other)** between them.

“ _Hiccup, you are working yourself to the bone! At least take a break every now and then._ ”

”What do you call this, a non-break?”

” _Huh?_ ”

”You said ‘a break’, I said ‘a non-break’. It’s that simple.”

” _Stop being a wise guy._ ”

”Stop being uneducated.”

” _What is ‘uneducated’?_ ”

”I’m pretty sure it means Snotlout.”

” _This argument is pointless, the fact is, you need a rest._ ”

”Or do I…”

” _It’s official, you spend too much time with the twins.”_

”Okay, already! I’ll have a rest, if you’re on guard duty.”

_”Deal.”_

The evening came rather quickly for those two that day, especially Hiccup.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Next Day**

Hiccup’s developing headache said all.

  
Snotlout was receiving his first power, Astrid would be able to use hers by now if he let that happen, and Fishlegs’ was leaning toward being usable.

Maybe Toothless’ idea to ‘take a break’ hadn’t been so bad after all. He could‘ve used one right then, in fact…

”No Snotlout, Gronckle’s have a shot limit of six!”

”Why do we need to learn this again? We aren’t fighting dragons anymore!”

”Fishlegs, Snotlout, calm down! This information is useful if we need to wear out a dragon’s fire to train or calm it.” Hiccup massaged his temple, half-certain his brain would die soon from the sheer amount of stupidity alone.  
  


It would be preferable to have death over listening to Johann’s stories, though. The trader was in Berk, currently letting people have a look at his wares. It was that, or this.

”You’re both muttonheads!” Astrid snapped, losing her not-very-long temper.

”Okay, I think some deep breaths are in order here…”

”…in, out, in, out. Work with me, people.”

“Ruffnut and Tuffnut have a good idea, let’s use it.” The situation slowly defused.   
  


“Sorry for saying this isn’t important.” Snotlout was the one to apologise first, surprising everyone.

”Yeah, I shouldn’t have yelled at you.” Fishlegs admitted.

”You two deserve the term ‘muttonheads’, but I will be forced to apologise later if I don’t do it now, so: sorry.”

Rolling her eyes didn’t help it to feel like a proper sorry, but that was the best they’d get out of Astrid.

”So, what’s a Nightmare’s shot limit? Anyone know?”

”The Snotmaster knows!” You can guess who shouted.

”And it is…?”

”Umm…10” 

“Correct,” Hiccup said, “good job, Snotlout.”  
  


“No need to sound so surprised,” he sounded annoyed now, “I am capable of learning, you know.”

It was on the tip of Hiccup’s tongue to ask if they really knew, when the bitterness in the last sentence caught up with him. So out of the blue, he asked a question.

”Are you alright, Snotlout?”

”Yeah, I’m a Jorgenson, we’re as tough as they come.”

“That wasn’t actually my question, but okay…”

  
Snotlout looked like he had a headache too, so his ability to be irritated easily wasn’t that hard to explain. Some would call it ‘normal Jorgenson behaviour’, but Hiccup knew better.

The lesson was continued, as Hiccup now knew what he was feeling: Snotlout’s headache. 

”How venomous is a Zippleback?”

”We know! They’re not at all.” Tuff yelled.

”Traditionally, Zipplebacks were thought to be venomous because of the rotting meat that catches on their teeth. We now know such a thing to be false.” Ruffnut explained.

”Well done, you two!” Hiccup feigned surprise, even though he knew the twins could be smart when they wanted to be.

”How did the twins get that smart?” Astrid asked, suspiciously.

”We’ve always been that smart, you just never noticed, little missy.” Tuffnut only called her that when he was offended, but tying not to show it.   
  


“You haven’t,” Snotlout disagreed. “you’re more muttonheaded than me.”

The twins left without another word. Barf-and-Belch tried to follow, but Ruffnut looked at him, telling him to stay and tell them about the lesson later.

* * *

  
Hiccup was worried. The twins hadn’t come back, and the lesson finished an hour ago. So, he did what any good friend would do: go and make sure they are okay, and find them in the process.   
  


The cave from the Berserker-treaty incident came to mind, so Hiccup and Toothless flew over. As expected, Tuffnut was sobbing in Ruffnut’s arms, not caring to even keep up with his ‘tough guy’ act.

”T-t-they c-called us m-m-mutton-h-headed.” He didn’t make much sense, but Hiccup and Ruffnut were letting him express his emotions (without teasing), for which he was grateful.

  
“It’s alright, Tuff. We’ve all been there. And, I know from past experience, you need to let it out.”

He sniffed, and asked a question that seemed unrelated, but would help his emotional state.

”C-can we u-use our p-p-powers? P-please?”

”Of course!” The ‘what kind of evil tyrant would say no?’ didn’t pass his lips.

”Ok-kay.”

The sparks flowed out of his hand, wild, beautiful and free, helping stabilise his sanity.  
  


While this was happening, Hiccup asked Barf-and-Belch to come over now. An explosion would happen sometime soon, and they needed to cover it up with an explosion-creating dragon.

Ruffnut didn’t gas the place until the Zippleback arrived and Hiccup went out. Predictably, the cave was blown up.

Toothless exited the cave and choked out _“Remind me to be mysteriously absent the next time they do that”_ before fainting from Zippleback gas inhalation.


	8. Chapter 8

**Three Days Later**

The four/five of them were out on a midnight flight, when they came across an island. It looked normal, but the muttering of a bonded dragon could be heard.

“ _Where is she? This better not be a joke…”_   
  


They found the dragon soon enough. It had a similar appearance to both a Night Fury (four legs, similar size) and a Nadder (long spiked tail), but it wore metal armour and had a long neck.

  
“ _Hello, who are you?” Toothless asked as he touched down._

_“I am One-Who-Cuts-Through-Wind, of the species Razorwhip.”  
  
_

_“Do you have a bonded?”_ Hiccup used the dragons’ mental talking instead of Norse.

_“…Why should I tell you that?”_

Hiccup, Tuffnut and Ruffnut revealed themselves from their hiding places behind the dragons’ wings. 

  
_“I was the one who asked,”_ Hiccup clarified. “ _and we could hear you from the clouds.”_

_“Well…my bonded had to go back to her village last night, but she hasn’t come back yet. She promised to be here before the moon rose.”_

_“We can do a quick fly-over, but we cannot interfere in anything, understood?”  
  
_

_“Understood. I expect to see you within the shadows moving a Nightmare head-length.”_

_“We’ll be here, hopefully with your bonded. What do they look like?”_ Toothless asked.

_“A girl with black hair, jade-green eyes and green-and-brown clothes with freckles.”_

_“Got it.”_ And with that, they were in the air again.

The village that Razorwhip mentioned had been burned to the ground, and recently. They went through the non-burning rubble with air filtering through.

“Help…” It was weak, but they could hear it.

“Help…”

Barf-and-Belch ran to the voice and pulled out a young girl covered head-to-toe in soot.

“Hiccup…?” She asked before falling over.   
  


They tried to remember if they’d ever seen her before. Suddenly, Hiccup remembered. “Heather?”

The girl coughed and rasped out “Nice to see you three again. Did you meet a Razorwhip on the way over here?”

”You mean One-Who-Cuts-Through-Wind?” Ruffnut inquired.

“I called her Windshear.”

“Oh, I know! Is it because she shears through the wind? Get it?”

  
“Yes Tuff, we get it.” Hiccup said in fond exasperation.

Suddenly Heather saw the damage around her “My…My village.” 

“I’m sorry, the dragons couldn’t find any other survivors.” Hiccup hated to break the news to her, but it had to be done.

“It’s not your fault. Why are you always sorry for things you didn’t do?”

“He simply wouldn't be Hiccup if he wasn’t so sensitive.”

“I think that was a rhetorical question, dear brother.”

“Do you even know what a rhetorical question is?”

“A rhetorical question is a question that is not meant to be answered. It can be asked for dramatic emphasis, or just for the sake of it.”

“Oh, when did you get time to learn that?”

  
“No idea, I just remember it from somewhere.”

“So, Heather,” Hiccup tried to change the subject back to dragons. “when did you bond with Windshear?”

“4-5 weeks ago, I think.”

“You haven’t…”

“…heard her voice speaking in my head? Yep.”

  
“Good, just making sure.”

“She mentioned that Toothless was dragon royalty or something, and that you could block powers?”

“…Yes?…”

  
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about my powers. Can you please block them for me?”

“Are you sure? If you needed to use them, I wouldn’t know to lift the restriction.”

  
“I’m sure, this way no accidents or slip-ups can happen.”

“If you really want to…” Hiccup replied.

  
He dove into her mind, avoiding memories and emotions to reach the “power area”. As far as he could tell, Heather’s power of telekinesis was developing.

“Should I block off her link with Windshear, or just your powers?”

“…Just my powers. I like talking with her.”

“Okay.”

  
After Hiccup completed that, the two dragons and four people flew over to Windshear.

“Windshear, you’re okay! I was so worried for you, girl!”

  
“ _A few Vikings couldn’t hurt me. I fought a Typhoomerang and survived, even though I am currently injured.”_

“Wait, you’re hurt? May I have a look?” Hiccup asked.

_“…Okay. I trust you, Dragon-Heart, for some unknown reason.”_

  
She rolled onto her side, displaying a long, jagged claw mark that had been infected, but was in the process of healing. Hiccup grabbed the anti-infection cream and bandages out of his saddle-bag to clean and bind the wound.

As he was doing that, they all asked questions about each other, involving who-had-what-power, where-were-Heather’s-parents, and things like that.

“So, H 2.0, did you meet Windy here when she was injured?”   
  


“Yes Tuff, her scratches had rendered her unable to fly, so I tried to help her and formed a bond with Windshear in the process.”

“Who attacked your town?” Ruffnut asked bluntly.

“…I don’t know, but I have a suspicion that it was the Berserker Tribe. Their leader might be on Outcast Island, but that doesn’t mean that the Tribe has faded out of existence.”

“What makes you so sure it was the Berserkers?”

“I don’t know for sure, Hiccup, but there was loud warcries, singing of bloodshed, Skrills on belt-buckles everywhere…”

  
“Yeah, we see your point. Where will you live from now on?” Hiccup worriedly asked.   
  


“As soon as Windshear can fly again, we planned to just wander the Archipelago, so nothing has really changed.”

“What about your family?”

  
“They have said I was adopted since birth, Ruff, so I guess that I always felt like an orphan.”

“That’s a bit harsh. And this is coming from someone who blows up at least 3 things everyday.”

“…Okay, and how were those two thoughts related?”

  
“Don’t try to figure it out, my dear Heather, or your brain will explode. Which would actually be pretty cool but sad at the same time. You know?”

“Tuffnut, be nice.”  
  


And so on and so forth.

* * *

**Two nights later**

Heather and Windshear were just waking up (They turned nocturnal because less people see you if you travel at night, so they were practicing.) when they saw a package wrapped in animal skins.

  
It was a saddle that fitted Windshear perfectly, and it had the initials HHHIII, proving that it was from Hiccup.

They both loved it.


	9. Chapter 9

**One Year Later**

Hiccup, Ruff, Tuff and the dragons stopped meeting every second night to meet once a week instead. No new powers had cropped up for the trio, but their bonds had definitely grown. New things had been learned along the way.

The dragon-human bond caused each being the ability to lessen any pains or aches on their bonded. Apparently, Toothless had subconsciously done this when Hiccup lost his leg. This made them fast healers, with Night Fury saliva also increasing their quickness to recover.  
  


Emotions could be felt through mental links. There was one day where Barf-and-Belch felt jealous of a Terrible Terror that the twins were playing with, and Hiccup had to double-check why he was feeling that on the opposite side of the archipelago.   
  
  


A bonded could tell what their other was thinking or feeling and read their memories. Mental blocks could be put up to avoid this, but the trio of humans and the five dragons only raised blocks for outside influences. Like mind-readers or sorcerers.

All the riders were capable of understanding mental speech, and they all had their two powers. Astrid’s was super-speed and being able to walk through walls, Fishlegs was mind reading and talking/understanding all animal languages, Snotlout’s was the ability to manipulate fire and water, Heather’s was telekinesis and lightning manipulation.   
  
  


Hiccup hadn’t told Heather about her abilities because he wasn’t as friendly with her as he was the twins, making it impossible to talk to her until they see each other again.   
  


All in all, the year had seen bonds, dragons and Vikings grow, though some things never change.   
  


* * *

“Ruff, Tuff! We’re going to be late!”

”Calm down Hiccup, we have plenty of time.” Tuffnut said in a relaxed way.

The three Vikings, Toothless Stormfly and Barf-and-Belch were meeting up with Stormfly’s friend—a Nadder—to see if they could understand all dragons now, and not just bonded ones.  
  


_“I’m not sure if you remember, but we promised to meet Green-Water just after the moon rose, and that time is nearly here.”_ Stormfly stated with slight irritation, _“I intend to keep my promise, although we could just turn around, go back home…”_

”No, we’re good. Berk is boring to be stuck on for every minute of every day of every week. We’ll be quicker.” Ruffnut assured, hastening Barf-and-Belch forward at a faster pace.   
  


The island chosen for a meeting place was Loki Isle, an uninhabitable rock that even the dragons tended to avoid.   
  


Once they arrived, Stormfly’s friend was spotted. Green-Water was a young female Nadder with green scales that had hints of blue. She was intrigued to meet the bonded ones, and decided to help with the test.   
  


First up, Hiccup tried talking to her.   
  


_“Hello, Green-Water? Can you hear me?”_

The Nadder nodded her head and replied, _“Dragon-Heart, Split-Zippleback, are you there?”_

Hiccup and the twins were pleasantly surprised to hear an unbonded dragon communicate with them. They were able to talk with all dragons, as their tests over the following week showed.

Ruffnut talked to Butt, Head and Pain, the Terrible Terrors about the most painful way to Loki Snotlout. 

Tuffnut spoke with Ingy, Sneaky and a wild Terror about the concept of pain and the best way to inflict it.

Hiccup had a conversation with Sharpshot, a wild Gronckle and a wild Nightmare on various specie-specific topics.  
  


The three Vikings discovered that having multiple mental conversations at once was possible. According to the dragons, only an Alpha would be able to do that. This left an impression on all of them.

**Two Months After**

Toothless and Hiccup went back to Heather’s island, checking on what dragons had moved in since their last visit.   
  


Imagine the duo’s surprise when they heard two familiar voices talking mentally.   
  


_“I knew we shouldn’t have come here. Now you’re leaking again.”_

_”…I’m not leaking. I’m crying. There is a difference.”_

_“Heather, Windshear? That you?”_

_”Hiccup go away, I’m cry…wait a second…Hiccup?”_

_”Hi there.”_ Toothless landed and Hiccup slid out of the saddle, walking over to where Heather was kneeling.

_”I’m sorry.”_

_”For the last time, it wasn’t your fault. In fact, if you hadn’t come this way, I would be 6 feet under too.”_ He could see that she was just grateful to be alive, and smiled sadly, kneeling on the ground next to her.   
  


_“Are you still okay with the travelling lifestyle? Because if you want…”_

_”No, me and Windshear haven’t even set foot out of the Archipelago yet. Not settling down until that happens.”_

_”Suit yourself.”_

_”You’d best be getting back. The sun rises in several hours‘ time.”_

_“Okay, but, before I leave, do you want to know your abilities?”_

_”…Yes. I do.”_

_”Heather, you have the abilities of telekinesis and lightning manipulation.”_

_”That sounds awesome and terrifying at the same time.”  
  
_

_“I think it was Ruffnut who said the exact same thing when we found their first power.”_

_”Thank you for telling me. See you soon.”_

_”Until we meet again.”_

  
And they went their seperate ways.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Just in case you missed out, the Bonded's powers are:**

  * **Hiccup: Invisibility and wind manipulation (he thinks it is just flight.**
  * **Ruffnut: Teleportation and (flammable) gas manipulation.**
  * **Tuffnut: Teleportation and sparks manipulation.**
  * **Astrid: Super-speed and the ability to walk through walls.**
  * **Fishlegs: Mind-reading and talking to animals in their own language.**
  * **Snotlout: Fire and water manipulation.**
  * **Heather: Telekinesis and lightning manipulation.**



**Enjoy!**

**Just after RTTE episode 4**

"Alright guys, now that we live on a reasonably small island with three other people who have no idea about our bonds, we need to be careful."

"Did you drag us halfway back to Berk to discuss not acting suspiciously?" Tuffnut asked.

"He's right, but also wrong. The only way the others could follow us would be on dragons, who won't give our secret away." Ruffnut said.

"The thing is, I should start changing the groups up a bit when the gang spilts into two. We are almost always a trio, with everyone else being the second group. It's time to change that."

_"You could aways put yourself with Snotlout, and the twins with Astrid,_ " Toothless suggested, " _and Fishlegs can go wherever he is needed."_

"Good idea, bud."

"Yeah, let's go with that."

"We can meet as normal." Added Ruff.

"So it's agreed?" Hiccup questioned, "We meet as normal, spilt up when possible, and just try to avoid suspension in general."

"Agreed." Tuffnut was in.

"Agreed." Ruffnut was in.

_"Agreed."_ Barf-and-Belch agreed.

_"Agreed."_ Toothless had no objections.

"Then it's confirmed, we go on as normally as is possible for us."

"Do you think we'll meet Heather at some stage?" Tuff wondered out loud.

Hiccup decided on an honest answer. "I don't know. But if we do, pretend you haven't seen her since we were 15. That means acting surprised at Windshear and her recently discovered aggressiveness. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Ruffnut understood.

"Gotcha." Tuffnut acknowledged this.

The twins' stupidity is mostly an act, but their love of jokes and pranks isn't. They are genuinely fun to hang around. Over the three years Hiccup had spent with them, they were always in trouble, or planning it. It was harmless for the most part, rarely life-threatening (unless the victim was Snotlout...), and Hiccup had been secretly involved in plotting out a few of them. Not that he'd mention it, of course...

"Hey, Hiccy? We should go now."

Having been snapped out of his memories, Hiccup allowed himself and Toothless to be lead back to The Edge.

_"Bud, should I call The Edge home? We don't know how long we will be there, or how tricky Dagur will be to catch. Is it wise to get attached to a temporary place?"_

_"I have only ever lived at Berk or the Nest, so I am afraid that my advice is useless. Both options seemed pretty permanent, but here we are. Let's just try to capture Dagur without getting killed in the process."_

_"Okay, we should try to make good memories while we are here, though it isn't our main goal."_

_"Did your version of 'good memories' have you doing the mouth-to-mouth thing with Ast-"_

_"Finish that sentence, and I won't give you any cod for a week."_

_"Suit yourself...but remember that I can tell what you are thinking..."_

_"Toothless, be quiet."_

**Author's Note: Just a short chapter explaining the change from Berk to The Edge. As you can see, Toothless knows about Hiccup liking Astrid. He teases him, but doesn't understand what kissing is, just knowing it as a form of human affection.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Somewhere Before 'Night Of The Hunters'**

They had been caught, and the twins felt stupid. How could they have not seen that net heading straight for them? That was an amateur mistake: looking away from your enemy.

Unfortunately, the two of them weren't the only ones. Astrid and Fishlegs had been ambushed by another ship in the fog, and who knows how Snotlout was captured.

The only ones capable of helping the Dragon Riders were Hiccup and Toothless, who had been able to avoid the net thrown their way. The twins hoped he had a plan, because their dragons were at the other end of the ship, and the guards didn't have keys on them.

* * *

It was night-time. The twins knew that Hiccup would have waited for this time on purpose to allow better chance of sneaking in unnoticed. Even the other Dragon Riders figured that one out.

There was just one problem: they were all in one cell, surrounded by hundreds of Dragon Hunters, and their dragons were no where to be seen. Of course, the twins knew partially where their dragon was, but couldn't share it with everyone else.

Suddenly, there was a blue flash of light. One of the guards asked what it was and all of them were uneasy. Except Ruff and Tuff, of course, who had their suspicions about it.

The blue flash came again. It seemed to be going at very high speeds, almost as quick as a Nadder on chicken. The twins now knew what I was, but had to play the fool(s) and say their 'opinions' out loud.

"Is that a Flightmare?" Ruffnut asked, rhetorically.

"No, dear sister, it is fast as a Nadder, but glowing."

"I might believe you, dear brother, but this creature glows."

"True, the Flightmare's algae isn't glowing yet-"

"Will you two muttonheads just shut up already?"

"Nope!" They said it in sync using their twin-scinct. It freaked Snotlout into being silent.

The blue flash was steadily coming closer. No solid object could be seen, but the moving blue glow indicated that something was there.

All of a sudden, the blue flash streaked through the guards, knocking each of them out without doing any permanent damage. It passed them, moving quickly and the twins heard a mental voice.

_"It's up to you now. Good luck!"_

The blue glow was Hiccup, using Astrid's superspeed. He was invisible, so all that could be seen was the glow from using Astrid's power.

The twins felt their powers, and grinned at each other. The plan was that Hiccup and Toothless would free the other dragons while they escaped. This would have to be done later, after the dragons were free. Hiccup or Barf-'n'-Belch would let them know when that occurred.

* * *

Barf-'n'-Belch had just them know that the dragons had been released. It was time to leave.

The twins stepped up to the lock on their cell and inspected it. Using mental talking, they determined how to blow up the lock.

Snotlout noticed their lock-picking plan and only had time to say "You two, there's no way out." before the cell was filled with Zippleback gas.

_"Sis, you put in too much gas. Now we wait for it to clear, or blow our friends up."_

_"Sorry bro, I'll go easier on the gas next time."_

They waited until the gas dispersed before trying again, this time with Tuff's hand on one side of the lock, and Ruff's on the other.

This time, the explosion stayed in the lock. They cheered in their heads. The explosion was powerful enough to open the lock, and the metal was strong enough to leave no trace of having been blown-up.

They opened the door and were turning around to tell everyone else to hurry when Astrid spoke up.

"Alright you two, where did the Zippleback gas come from, how did you pick the lock, and what was that blue flash?"

The twins exchanged guilty looks.


End file.
